MOST COMMONLY CITED PROBLEMS

Here’s a list of recurring problems I saw on the job as a professional Story Analyst that you must try to avoid.  Do yourself a favor: don’t follow the herd!

1. GENERIC and FAMILIAR (the two most common words I’ve used in coverages)

2. Lack of a clear, controlling theme(your first scene and your climax should very clearly reflect the theme. Ideally, every scene should comment upon the theme in some way)

3. Passive protagonist (your protagonist must actively pursue his/her goal by making choices under conflict)

4. Story is not active (too much telling, not enough showing)

5. Lack of conflict (not enough built-in conflict in the protagonist’s throughline; not enough action; conflict does not escalate)

6. Lack of “rootability” in the protagonist/hero (we don’t have to like them as a human being, but we must root for them to achieve their goal)

7. No “clock” (a timeframe has not been established to increase tension and story logic)

8. Basic structural problems (e.g., first act too slow; lack of action in second act; falls apart in the third act; length of acts not balanced correctly)

9. The dreaded OVER’s! (overwritten, overdirected, overformatted, overpackaged)

10. Typos, spelling errors and bad grammar! (proofread your work on paper, not just on the computer; then proofread it again)

-Daniel Calvisi
www.actfourscreenplays.com
copyright (c) Daniel Calvisi 2005-2006

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